Verizon Scores $350 Million Yahoo Coupon

Verizon and Yahoo have revised the terms for Verizon’s acquisition of the core business Yahoo in the wake of major hacks of Yahoo email accounts. According to The Hollywood Reporter, both companies issued a joint statement announcing the original $4.83 billion purchase price has been cut by $350 million, bringing the cost of acquisition down to the low, low price of only $4.48 billion. In mid-December, Yahoo disclosed that a hack had compromised the information of more than 1 billion user accounts. It was the company’s second such disclosure since September, when it reported that a 2014 breach had impacted at least 500 million accounts. Verizon executives had repeatedly said they were evaluating what the hacking disclosures meant for the planned transaction, with some reports saying the company had also considered pulling out of the deal altogether.

Marni Walden, who lugs around the weighty title of Verizon EVP and President of Product Innovation and New Businesses, remarked, “The amended terms of the agreement provide a fair and favorable outcome for shareholders. It provides protections for both sides and delivers a clear path to close the transaction in the second quarter.” Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche observed, “Verizon and Yahoo will evenly split the future liabilities arising from its two disclosed data breaches. This is especially positive in our view, as it should limit Verizon’s future liability here. Our concern had been once this closed, Yahoo’s problems of the past would be solely on Verizon, now Yahoo will share in this.”

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, who is expected to exit the company after the deal is finalized, said, “We continue to be very excited to join forces with Verizon and AOL. This transaction will accelerate Yahoo’s operating business especially on mobile, while effectively separating our Asian asset equity stakes. It is an important step to unlock shareholder value for Yahoo, and we can now move forward with confidence and certainty.”